A 70-year-old woman was arrested in New York today after she was charged with beating her 80-year-old husband to death with a coffee cup in Woodland Hills.

The suspect, Lois Ann Goodman, is a tennis referee who had gone to the Big Apple to work at the U.S. Open, according to the LAPD and the L.A. County District Attorney's office.

Her husband, Alan Goodman, was found dead …

… April 17 at the couple's home in the 20000 block of Oxnard Street, according to the LAPD.


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Alan Goodman was declared dead at the scene. At first authorities weren't sure if foul play was involved, so a full-on homicide investigation was launched, cops say.

On Aug. 2 detectives determined that Lois Ann Goodman did it with a coffee mug, they said.

On Aug. 14 investigators took their evidence to the D.A.'s office, which issued an arrest warrant and ultimately filed a charge of murder, according to the LAPD and D.A.'s officials.

The LAPD states:

Credit: usopen.org

Credit: usopen.org

At the time, it was discovered she was officiating U.S. open tennis matches in New York City and would probably remain there for several weeks.

Today, LAPD homicide detectives conducting a follow-up investigation in New York City, with the assistance of the New York City Police Department, arrested Goodman. For now, she will be lodged at a Manhattan jail until her court appearance, after which her extradition back to Los Angeles will be pending.

D.A.'s officials say the woman's bail at $1 million and that, if convicted, she faces life in prison. But first, she must be extradited to California.

A possible motive was not mentioned.

[Added at 12:05 a.m.]: A Los Angeles Times profile of Lois Goodman from 1994 says the couple owned an auto parts business together and had three daughters:

Lois Goodman has received dirty looks from John McEnroe. She has been the target of Jim Courier's sexist remarks and has heard enough bickering among the world's best tennis players to lose track of who said what.

And the 52-year-old Calabasas resident loves it.

Goodman, an avid tennis fan for most of her life, got a job 15 years ago that allowed her to stand on the court with the world's top players. She became an umpire.

[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]

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